Ditching Eternity
by Symphony.In.The.Abyss
Summary: [Friskian] Adrian Andrews researcher, searches the woods for those who killed her professor. Getting captured by Goblins, she is saved by the leader of the elves Franziska. While she stays and wait for whether she is to live or not, war breaks out. AU
1. Chapter 1

**Ditching Eternity**

_**A/N: ... ... ... Hello. This is my first Phoenix Wright story. Friskian even. Be nice. **_

**_Update: Edited by ThePushThatComesToShove, aka the co-writer as of 26/10/09_**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Elves and Goblins**

She lifted her notepad, the first couple of pages filled with expert notes on the forest she and her professor were examining. Together, at least, until that day, that fated day when the two ventured deeper than they were supposed to and ran into those who hated humans. They were called elves. Magical, mysterious creatures of which she, Adrian Andrews, and her professor, Celeste Inpax, were studying.

Within the week of Celeste's death, caused by an unknown force to cause her to lose air, Adrian had been a little uneasy. She cried at night instead of finishing up her notes, and she stared into the forest hoping to seek revenge. She would think nothing of it until she remembered the words of the deceased professor, her firm voice echoing in her head;

_"The elves are gentle creatures, magical and mystical. This is why I've dedicated my life to them. They are almost immortal, but do have some sort of weakness. In any case of us dying at the hands of them, remember, they have to have had a reason."_

This was why Adrian was standing here, in the middle of a forest, lost yet searching. She adjusted her hat and continued to look onwards for the elven region where she was going to attempt to speak with their leader. She hoped nothing bad would come to her, but then again her mind has been debating whether it was worth living without her professor. In her mind, she was set on knowing why they killed her professor. The one she relied on the most, the one she... The one she came to love.

Amongst the many trees in her way were beautiful fruits which she had listed to be crossbreeds of already existing ones. Holding a banana in her hand she finished the ritual of chewing and threw it into her bag for disposal later. "Where are you elves?" she thought aloud, eyes scanning the area for the elusive creatures.

Suddenly a noise came from the corner of her vision. The rustling of the leaves quickened, the pace of her heart beating racing with it. She couldn't help but emit a shriek when something grabbed her leg. Being pulled down with a quick thump, she attempted to resist, holding onto her bag and notepad, her hat flying off her blonde head with the swift movement.

"Human, human!" the creature cooed, running further and further into the forest. Adrian tried hard to resist the rough ground and its many rocks, but through it all, she received several scratches.

_Damn_, she thought as she continued to be dragged, _Am I going to die?_ Before the question was to answer itself, she was brought to a clearing through the trees and before Adrian's eyes stood many little creatures which she understood to be goblins. She muttered the name aloud, but the word was too quiet and insignificant to be acknowledged by her captors.

"Human!" the presumable leader of the few cried out. He walked right up to her and took a good bite of her leg, grimacing from the foul taste. "Ack! Human taste like dirt! We must wash human!"

Adrian couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her leg was throbbing, and about five of these creatures had picked her up and were about to throw her into the river that just happened to be nearby. Her eyes widened. "Let go of me!" she yelled, struggling from the hands of these goblins. Unfortunately her luck was low and she felt herself launched from their hands, her body tossed into the air above the river. Her eyes continued to widen as she saw the pointed rocks in the river. _Dammit, I'm going to die!_

"Gah!" came the cry of a goblin. Arrows had been launched towards their feet and they huffed and pouted at their attackers. Flailing their arms in rage, one tried to take a step forward but was struck by an arrow, discouraging any further movement.

"Retreat!" cried the leader.

Adrian was surprised as she opened her eyes to see that she didn't feel the pain of jagged rocks and unbelievably cold water. Instead, she found herself wrapped in warmth, and only feeling a little dizzy. Finding that it felt as if she were flying she looked up, only to see blue hair and eyes looking forward. One feature also stood out to her: pointed ears.

"Elf?" It was the last thing she muttered before passing out.

* * *

"I have returned," cried the one with blue hair. In her arms contained a girl of blonde hair and glasses, her limp form twitching with every breath she inhaled and exhaled.

"Franziska," called out one of the other elves, "That is a human! How can you bring such a creature here?"

"I apologize, cousin of mine. But this human was about to be eaten by goblins. I simply couldn't watch," Franziska told her cousin, one with a darker shade of blue hair up to his chest. His skin was a shade paler than hers and his eyes were a navy blue, shining with anger under the light of the sun.

"Damn those goblins," he began, turning away, "This is our territory!"

"I know," Franziska replied, "I swear, do they want to die?"

"They're just a bunch of idiots," came another voice, a much tinier voice. The little elf looked up at his cousin. "Franziska, you should let that girl rest."

"How considerate of you, Alex," Franziska murmured, eliciting a proud smile from the younger elf. "What should we do with her afterwards?"

"What's this? You're going to allow my brother to decide the fate of this human?" the older elf asked, "Why not I? I say we kill her."

"Dan!" Alex cried, appalled, "I always wanted to meet a human and play with one... Franziska, could you please let this human stay with us before my brother kills her?"

"Hmm?" Franziska moved Adrian in her arms a bit, attempting to make her weary arms more comfortable. "You mean after you're done playing her, you're going to let her die?"

"Well, how about you decide then?" Dan asked, his voice a haughty hiss, "I just said to kill her because she crossed into our territory."

"Whatever, we'll probably end up killing her, anyway," Franziska muttered absently. She then turned her back to them and ran towards her hut to wash and re-clothe the human and to let her rest before Alex could play with her."

* * *

Adrian stirred in a semi-comfortable bed made from various things of the forest. She turned to see a small stand and picked her glasses from it. Sitting up, she yawned and placed them on in order to take in the sights around her.

"A hut?" she muttered to herself. Getting off of the bed, she noticed her clothes had changed. Realizing this caused her to automatically blush in embarassment, the knowledge of someone undressing her becoming painfully obvious. Looking around for any signs of life, she was surprised by a floating collection of sparkling particles.

"Hey there!" It greeted in a rather upbeat voice, "What's your name?"

Adrian stared at the... thing for a moment before taking the time to respond. "I'm Adrian, Adrian Andrews. And yours?"

A face never appeared on the bubble sparkling particles, but it responded in an equally happy tone at first, "I'm Tak! Nice to meet you, Ms. Andrews."

The floating mass of particles was surprisingly nice and polite. Adrian couldn't but smile at it. "You can call me Adrian, Tak."

"Yay!" It exclaimed, flying around the room, "Franziska's been waiting for you to wake up. You are a human, are you not?"

"Why, yes I am," Adrian responded somewhat bluntly, "And what species are you?"

"Well, I'm a fairy!" it announced as it continued to fly around.

"Interesting," Adrian replied with a slight giggle. The creature's upbeat attitude was conatgious. "And who is this Franziska?"

"She's an elf, Adrian. The leader of this region, in fact. You're lucky she let you live."

"Lucky? So the elves always kill humans?"

"No, no, _no_," Tak replied rather quickly, and if it had eyes, she could have sworn his were darting around secretively, "Elves are very peaceful, but they've become a little annoyed of the goblins. So recently they've been killing intruders. You're lucky being found by Franziska, she may look and act all serious and tough, but she's a real softy!"

"Really?" Adrian responded. She was now rather interested in knowing who this Franziska was. Her wish was granted as a woman, looking a little bit younger than her, walked in with about shoulder length blue hair and a simple mole on her face. Her skin was pale, but it was a frequent feature on those who were elves.

"Tak, why didn't you report to me and tell me that she was awake?" she asked, getting straight to the point. She did not even look at Adrian. Adrian would have been irritated by this if it were not for the fact that the exotic looking creature was so _distracting_.

The fairy huffed, moving to buzz around Franziska's head. "This human's name is Adrian, Franziska!" Tak said, ignoring the leader's question, "She's a very nice human!"

"Is she now?" Franziska asked. Walking towards the blonde researcher, she looked her up and down, her steely slate eyes cold and calculating. "She's quite young."

"Hey!" Adrian retorted, tempted to put her hands on her hips, "I'm only 21, and you look about my age."

"Hmph, such arrogance," Franziska spat, put bluntly once more, "I am 180 years old..." She paused, meaning to address her with her name. "Is it Adrian?" Adrian simply nodded in response and remembered her notes. Elves were immortal and lived for many, many years.

"W-What are you going to do with me?" Adrian asked, slightly scared. Fear was making its way through her body and she was forced to settle her shaking glasses with a weak hand.

"You have been allowed to stay alive thanks to my young cousin. Alex is merely 10 years old and has always wanted to play with a human. Do you think you can manage that?"

Adrian nodded in response, relief calming her trembling hand. "Thank you for sparing my life."

"Whatever," Franziska responded idly, turning away. "He's waiting outside for you. If you need me, I'll be out hunting." Adrian looked at the arrows in Fraziska's quiver and the bow that was held underneath. She was glad that she was spared, and it turned out that Franziska was the one who had scared away the goblins. Tak looked at Adrian before leaving to follow Franziska.

Letting out a soft sigh, Adrian took it upon herself to exit the hut and meet with this 'Alex'. Upon exiting the hut she met with a boy half her size with a wide smiling face, perky ears, red shining eyes, and blue hair a lighter shade than Franziska.

"Hello there, human!" He greeted, his smile continuing to widen.

This only startled Adrian _slightly_.

"You must be Alex," she began as the boy nodded in reply, "My name is Adrian, and I thank you for saving my life."

The boy blushed modestly. "Aww, it was nothing. Now lets go play something, Adrian!" Before Adrian even had the chance to respond the boy grabbed her hand and dragged her to unknown places.

* * *

"The girl seems nice, Franziska," Tak commented as she looked back, witnessing the small exchange between the human and the young elf. Alex jumped up and down and grabbed the woman's wrist, leading her away. The fairy had to suppress a laugh.

"Sure," was all she said, refusing to put too much thought on the matter. There were more important things at hand. "If she deserves it, then maybe we won't kill her."

"As forward as always," Tak replied, following Franziska into other parts of the forest. If their leader did not want to dwell on it, Tak decided it would be best to leave the matter alone. For the time being.


	2. Chapter 2

**Ditching Eternity**

_**A/N: So...Ugh...No reviews? Well it was only the first chapter. Plus I asked my sister to look over the first chap for mistakes. . Anyways here goes the next chapter...Oh and yes she noticed that Adrian was the wrong age, sorry if this bothered any of you, but she will be a bit younger. **_

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**Chapter 2: Striving For Perfection**

Franziska had been scouting, not searching the woods for prey. She didn't care if she had to kill a goblin or a human, her region could not be poisoned by such creatures. The Elf region shall consist of elves and elves only. Having any other creatures created imbalance.

"Franziska," Tak muttered, his voice very low, "There are some creatures over there," he continued, causing Fransizka looked in the same direction. Holding her bow firmly in her hands, she pulled out an arrow and released it, piercing the bird that was flying nearby. It was pinned against the tree neatly, and Franziska quietly went forward to get it.

"A perfect shot," Tak commented, smiling at the woman, "I couldn't expect anything less."

"You shouldn't expect anything less, my father was a brilliant man and a perfect hunter, I shall not soil our name and achieve imperfection."

"You know you don't have to follow in your father's footsteps."

"What? After what my older brother...No I can't call him that anymore. After that man betrayed us, and...Someone has to follow my father..." she explained, glaring at the scene in front of her as she jumped through the trees, "Besides, it's expected of me."

Tak stared at the girl who continued to search for something to hunt. Letting out an inward sigh he continued to follow the leader of the Elven village.

---------------

From playing tag to chasing frogs, to capturing buterflies to climbing trees, it had finally come to this. Adrian was sharing a rather large but old stump with Alex and holdind a rod made from bamboo, she was waiting patiently for a decent bite. Not having talked to Alex much but simply aggreeing to go along with his game and ignoring the glares that came from other elves she decided to take the plunge.

"Alex," she muttered to the boy turned to her with a pearly smile.

"Yes Adrian?!" he responded eagerly.

She couldn't help but smile back at the kid and place a hand on his head, "Why have you always want to play with a human?"

"Well..." he began as she released her hand from the top of his head, "We've interacted with them before...From discussing the trading of forest items...To killing them because our kind doesn't really like to interact with other kinds. I've always had an interest with them...I was usually lonely as well. My brother was training, hunting and hanging with his friends, I have no friends since there were not many elves my age. Franziska, my cousin was kind to me at times. But she was the busiest out of everyone always having to deal with goblins, orcs, humans, and the moonlight elves. Some villagers admire her sense of strong duty, those who have been scolded by making a mistake think shes a bit to harsh. But thats just her lifestyle."

Alex turned back to the river and waited patiently for something to take a bite of his bait. Adrian stared back at her rod and the river simply taking in everything that the boy said. Quite knowledgable for a 10 year old. He was lonely and he was cute. Maybe she could become good friends with him.

Suddenly something tugged on her line. Jumping up from surprise she started to pull it in, reeling up the line when she had to. Alex's eyes widened with excitement as he cheered her on. Finally, after the struggle and one giant pull a rather large...fish was pulled out.

"What...What kind of fish is this?" she asked staring at the moving animal. Alex stabbed the poor thing with one of the knives that rested in his back and turned to her.

"This is a...A...Well I'm not entirely sure, but it's a good fish," he blushed in embarassment, and she smiled at his innocence.

After that, she stared at it. The scales shone as the light from the current sunset reflected off of it. She didn't feel like she could do anything. What in the world was she supposed to do with the fish?

"Adrian?" the boy muttered staring at her, "Whats the matter?"

"Ugh..." she began, "I...I don't know."

"Well let's bring this fish back," Alex offered, "The villagers might like you a bit more after this."

"O-Okay," she muttered. She helped the boy drag the fish all the way back to the village. While the whole time the boy told her how much fun he had and mentioned some funny moments; she was remembering what happened back there. Thats when it hit her. He co-dependency...It was creeping back to her. After Celeste died she was a little dazed and clueless on what to do. But in her mind all she wanted to do was find the reason to Celeste's death and continue her research on elves.

"And remember when we were catching that blue and purple butterfly and you jumped to catch it but tripped over that rock..."

Hopefully the elves wouldn't find out. It was slightly embarassing, and they might take advantage.

"And, and, and then the branch broke and scolded you for not being more careful..."

"Alex..." Adrian muttered turning to the small boy, "Thank you."

"I already said its nothing," he blushed as the village was in clear sight, "Really, I'm glad that Franny let you play with me."

"F-Franny?"

"Oh don't you call her that, she might make a fit."

"I see..."

---------------------

"Okay, so two deer and four birds," turning to Tak he declared that it was enough. As she head back towards the village she heard a strange noise. Flinching slightly she suddenly stopped and stared jumping towards the location of the noise.

"It's...It's good to see you again, Franziska," a voice called out. It was obviously a man, his tone smooth and deep, "How long has it been? About a hundred years, I'm guessing."

"Miles Edgeworth..." Franziska muttered, her face showing anger, "Leave this place, you don't belong here!"

"Ah, but didn't you say that only elves may live here? That the environment must be perfect, simple animals for food, planting fruits vegetable and such? And aren't I an elf?" The man's greyish, slightly brown hair shifted to the side and he gave her a simple grin, "And isn't that blonde woman a human?" 

"How do you know about the human?" Franziska asked. Tak rested himself on her head listening intently to the former siblings conversation, "And you are no longer considered an elf. You're with the moonlight elves are you not? I heard you lead them now...How pathetic, letting their own kind be led by someone of a different species."

Shaking his head and waving his finger his face turned a little angry, "It's not pathetic. What's pathetic is you, killing off goblins and humans, chasing them away just BECAUSE they aren't your own kind."

"Shut up, my region shall be nothing but perfect," she growled and turned away, "Believe me, once my cousin finishes playing with her she'll be dead."

"Hah, letting her live just because of your small cousin? It seems that other people do matter to you."

"Shut up...I may be after the same reputation my father had, but I won't be hated by them either. I must be perfect, keep the village in order, make sure everyone is doing their part, make sure we have enough resources, AND make sure that they're happy."

"Of course..." He turned around and didn't look back, "Franziska, you need to learn how to cooperate with others...War can break out between several of your species and you won't have any alliances. We formed an alliuance with the orcs and permenantly drove away the goblins. The other species don't give a damn about what we do. And you...Your species won't have anything to do with anyone else but yourselves. I'll be there when that girl dies, I'll be there to see your face as you end another life just because it caused imbalance," Sighing, he jumped away into the darkness of the new night.

Smashing her fist against the trunk of a tree she growled, "Damn that Edgeworth...Just showing up to make fun of me!"

"Maybe they have something in mind..." Tak commented, "And...Don't listen to him, striving for perfection isn't bad or anything. But will you really kill Adrian?"

"I can't exactly say no. I must keep balance. If I could maybe I'll just throw her out to get eaten by the goblins."

"N-No!" Tak yelled, "Please, let her live?"

"Tak..." Franziska sternly said, "Why are you so interested in her?"

"She seems nice and so lonely...Didn't you see that look in her eyes?"

"No..."

"Don't the humans interest you at least a bit?"

"No."

"At least does she interest YOU a bit?"

"Well...Maybe..." Her eyes softened, but she shook her head, "No. Absolutely no. She'll just be here for Alex's enjoyment, then we'll get rid of her somehow.

------------------------

"Wow, this Yuleck Thut fish is pretty good," Dan commented eating his own share of the fish, "Good work, human."

"Her name is Adrian, Dan!" Alex yelled, sticking out his tongue.

"I-Its okay Alex, I'm but a guest here. It's only natural that he would call me by the term human," she commented stroking the boys hair. Turning to her own portion she took a bite.

"Adrian, I only called you human because I didn't know your name. I am not that kind of man," he replied finishing his portion, "I'm glad that you make Alex happy, so don't worry about what I think of you." He turned to his smaller brother who was reaching out for more, "Hey, try not to fill yourself too much, Franziska is going to be back with our dinner."

She made a graceful entrane from the top of a high tree. Throwing down all of her hunted prey she stared at the fish, "What is this? This wasn't planned at all."

"Adrian caught it while she was fishing with Alex," Dan commented, "Thought it would be a good snack before dinner. Us and some other villagers ate some."

"I see. Well done, Adrian," Franziska commented, "I am grateful of your effort."

"Franny! Franny! Adrian and I had soooo much fun today!!"

"Hey Alex I told you not to call me that in public!" Franziska yelled. Her face turned a slight pink and Adrian couldn't help but laugh.

"W-What's so funny?!" Franzsika yelled, "And you, Dan, why are you laughing?"

"I think its cute," Adrian commented finishing up her share. Alex ran to embrace the girl and Franziska continued to blush.

"C-Cute? Nonsense!" Franzsika yelled. Dan just laughed louder as Franziska gave him a good slap and left to cook the village dinner.

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_**A/N: Whoosh and another chapter done!!! I'd like to thank my sister for pre-reading it. I understand if you think the three canon characters are a little OOC, it is an AU after all. But I'm trying not to make them too OOC.**_

_**Review?**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Ditching Eternity**

_**A/N: At least the hits went up. :) I can't really complain since this is only the third chapter. I'd like to thank my BETA again.**_

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**Chapter 3: The Legend of the Moonlight Elves**

Feeling that she didn't belong, Adrian took her dinner to the hut that she woke up in, now being her residence. All the elves had gathered to where the food was made and were laughing and talking like normal humans, except they had pointed ears.

"This stuff is good," Adrian muttered, taking another bite of the meat and strange vegetables that Franziska had put together. Picking up the cup of water that she had nestled comfortably on the floor, she drank it and let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey there, Adrian," a familiar and bubbly voice of a 10 year old child called out. No, it wasn't Alex, but Tak.

"Hey, Tak," Adrian greeted with a sweet smile, "How was your day?"

Tak flew in a bit closer before speaking, "Quite exciting actually. Hunting and such."

"I see," Adrian reponded finishing up, "I won't ask for details."

"Thanks," Tak replied, landing softly on top of the blonde's head.

A moment of silence. Adrian had gulped down the rest of her water, left her hut, looked for a tree and climbed up the tree to get a better view of the stars while Tak continued to rest on her head.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Tak asked, his glow growing as the sky darkened.

Adrian smiled at the sight, "Yes," was all she said as she simply stared into the sky, "Very beautiful."

"Adrian," a young feminin voice called out, "Adrian Andrews."

Adrian looked down to see Franziska staring at her, "Did Tak tell you my full name?"

"Yes," Franziska replied jumping up onto the branch.

Another moment of silence.

"Franziska..." Adrian muttered, turning to the blue haired woman, "Are you...Are you going to kill me?"

Franziska didn't look back at Adrian, but stared into the sky, her eyes fixated on the moon. Sighing, she closed her eyes and her empty expression turned into a frown, "I don't know."

Adrian flinched, "I...I see..." she muttered to herself, turning to the side. She hadn't realized it before, but she had a good view of the village.

"How do you like the village so far, Ms Adrian Andrews?" Franziska asked, still not turning away from the glorious moon.

Adrian closed her eyes to ponder for a moment. The first thing that came to mind was Alex, "Well, it's beautiful, that's for sure."

"Of course, I make sure it stays that way," Franziska replied now crossing her arms.

"Your clothing are pretty similiar, as well," Adrian commented, "And this outfit you gave me too."

"Yes, I did design them and made them with whatever we had," Franziska continued, "It wasn't easy but it's what we have."

Adrian nodded while continuing to respond. Adrian was now wearing a long sleeve blouse that revealed her shoulders. She also wore capris with a slightly darker shade of green than her top. They were made from a strange material and special leaves. The stitches on them were very clear, but it looked decent. Franziska's outfit was short to no sleeve that releaved her shoulders and would've exposed her shirt if she wasn't wear her black tank top underneath. Both tops stopped before her stomach and she wore simple shorts.

"Alex is very kind to me," Adrian continued, finding the words to say.

"That is good to know," Franziska replied, finally deciding to sit next to Adrian, "Alex is a well behaved child."

"Say...Franziska?"

"What is it?" Franziska ended up turning to Adrian's face. The moonlight bounced off her glasses but lit up her face anyways. It did the same to Franziska and this was obvious to the two of them.

"I am a researcher..."

"That explains why you were in this forest in the first place," Franziska commented, "Humans and their curiousity, it never stops."

"Sorry," Adrian said with a slight laugh, "But I guess it's human nature."

Franziska let out a little hmph and cotniued to stare at Adrian, "Well, go on."

Adrian let out a nervous laugh, almost forgetting what she was going to say next, "Oh yes." Franziska simply rolled her eyes in response. "Anyways, I always wondered, do the moonlight elves really exist?"

Franziska let out a little twitch and looked at Adrian with the expression that clearly said 'You've got to be kidding me'. Adrian responded with a face that said 'I'm dead serious'.

"You've done good research to learn about them," Franziska replied with a soft sigh, "It's rather simple, though. They're elves with strange DNA because it was mixed with that of a human. But after that, two moonlight elves can mate to create another moonlight elf, but it's the humans DNA that stuck with that of an elf that caused them such a transformation."

"Interesting," Adrian replied wishing that she had her notebook with her at the time, "Well, what's the difference? What did the human DNA do?" Franziska thought it strange how much Adrian was interested in that topic. Adrian's eyes were now filled with life and excitement along with curiousity. Tch, she was a human, after all.

"Hmm, moonlight elves' ears aren't as pointy and their skin is not as pale. But when the moon comes out their skin is paler. They have blue markings on their body, the places random. They had superior fighting and hunting skill and somehow gained the power to form wings at their back by processing the surrounding magical aura that surrounds everyone everywhere."

Adrian tried to imagine these creatures. She was actually now very intrigued to see one, but she knew that Franziska would never let her.

"You are the leader of the elves, do you have any relation to them?"

Franziska growled at herself, thinking about her brother. Scowling, her eyes stared into the distance that was left of her. Adrian stared, a little frightened of her response.

"Franziska?"

"My brother..." she began unfolding her arms, relaxing a bit more on the branch, "My brother left us and joined those of the moonlight elves. He joined them and eventually became their leader."

"W-Wow..." Adrian muttered, "He's their leader? I've never seen a species being led by someone of a different species."

"I know, it's ridiculous. How could they let someone of a different race lead them? It's ridiculous, just ridiculous."

"Hmm..." Adrian pondered, her finger coming to the tip of her chin in wonder, "Then again...That _is_ pretty amazing to be able to trust someone of another race."

"And why is that?" Franziska asked. She always felt that contact with other races were not needed and that things were perfect if species stayed with their own species. Franziska stared at Adrian until she gave an answer.

"It shows how trusting a race can be," Adrian replied her finger being removed from her face to rest on the branch, "I think it would be amazing if the species were to interact with each other; we could share technology, facts on life, etc."

"Typical human," Franziska muttered, "It would never work out well. Humans are foolish, greedy and manipulating, goblins are foolish, stupid and greedy, moonlight elves are foolish for even ending up like that, the orcs are foolish and reckless."

"I'm a little offended," Adrian said adjusting her glasses, "Do you really see me like that?"

"Oh, ugh, no..." Franziska replied quickly, "Sorry if I offended you...You are...Different from most humans."

"So that means you like me right?" Adrian asked as a soft smile graced her features.

"L-Like?" Franziska yelled, her cheeks turning red.

"What?" Adrian wondered, her face showing cluelessness. Suddenly realizing what Franziska meant, she laughed, "Oh no, I meant as a friend."

"O-Oh..." Franziska replied her face toning down back into its pale mode, "I see."

"Well?" She asked again, her eyes looking for an answer within Franziska's. She wanted to make sure she was telling the truth.

"Yes, I...like you as a friend Adrian Andrews. You're different from the other humans I've met, but don't get cocky, I barely know you. N-Now on a different topic-"

"Franziska..." Adrian began, her old professor popping up in her mind.

Franziska nearly fumed for Adrian interrupted her, but turning to the blonde she saw a very sad and distant look in her eyes. "What is it?" She asked, the pain in Adrian's eyes was obvious and Franziska didn't like it.

"Elves...Elves killed my professor," Adrian said almost so quietly that Franziska couldn't hear, "Why...I really want to know why." She pushed up her glasses before continuing to look at the ground, "Please tell me."

Franziska nearly froze. They had been killing humans for entering the territory and disrupting their peace. It never really occured to them that the people they killed had family and loved ones waiting for them at home. But then again, why would she even care? Humans had nothing to do with her, but now, Adrian Andrews, human among elves, had at least something to do with her. Adrian turned to her with sad eyes and Franziska, on instinct, turned away.

Perfect timing.

"Adrian!!" a boy called out jumping onto Adrian's back. He was giggling pretty loudly and his jump seemed pretty big. That was, of course, thought because the branch snapped. Franziska thought being near the tree was safe. Her eyes widedned as she saw fear strike the eyes of Alex and Adrian, in a fully determined leap Franziska caught the two and rolled to soften the fall.

"Adrian!" The boy cried out sobbing into the woman's shirt, "I was so...So scared!!!" he exclaimed tugging onto her shirt and soaking it with his tears.

Adrian pat the boy on his head and turned to Franziska, who was dusting dirt off of herself, "T-Thank you," Adrian muttered to the young- older one.

"Alex!" Franziska yelled, "You know to be more careful than that!" Alex's frown didn't disappear as he continued to sob.

"I'm sorry, Franny!" he apologized still holding on tightly to Adrian's shirt, "If you didn't save us Adrian could've been seriously hurt..."

Franziska continued to look angry, but she winced in pain and pulled a rather sharp rock from the side of her body. Adrian looked at her with concern, Alex simply continued to sob.

"Adrian, bring Alex to his brother. I need to make sure things are cleaned up at the dinner area," Franziska asked, taking her hand away from the wound, obviously trying to act tough.

Adrian stared as the leader of elves began to walk away. She felt a bit colder as the wind blew, causing her soaked clothes to feel colder than they were supposed to be. Picking up Alex, craddling him in her arms she looked for the older and moderately muscular Dan.

Leaning against the door of a hut the same size as every other hut Dan looked up to see Adrian with a sleeping Alex in her arms. "Ah, sorry, he gets sleepy after eating so much..." Taking the young boy into his arm he felt wet coldness against his bare chest. He looked up to Adrian with a rather questionable look, "Was he crying?"

"Ah," Adrian began nervously scratching the back of her neck, "Well, he attcked me from behind as a greeting..."

"Typical Alex," Dan commented looking at his younger brother.

Adrian stifled a giggle, "And you see the branch we were on broke...I almost broke something, but Franziska saved us."

"Oh, thank goodness for Franziska..." he muttered, eventually letting out a sigh of relief, "Are you okay?"

Adrian nodded simply at his question. Dan gave her a goodnight smile and entered his hut quietly. Looking around her, Adrian noticed that Tak wasn't with her anymore. As her gaze met with light smoke within the dark sky she saw the glowing mass of particles, and a busy Franziska. Sighing to herself Adrian left to her hut to take a good night's sleep.

-------

Franziska, awake very early like usual, was sitting on a stump watching over her village with a content look on her face. Moving around the stump she faced towards the forest, her expression changing from content to complete and utter shock.

"Miles Edgeworth?!" She yelled in her surprise, not too loud to awake her villagers.

"Ah," Edgeworth began, a single other man next to him with rather spikey hair, "Franziska..." He began with a very serious face, "I'm here with my right hand man to declare a certain something." The porcupine head next to him bowed a bit nervously.

"I am Phoenix," he greeted offering his hand. Franziska slapped it away and walked up to Edgeworth.

"You wouldn't dare to."

"Oh yes I would," he replied with a smirk, "I've had enough with your striving for perfection. This perfection is only perfection to you. A perfect world is a world where everyone can interact with each other without someone KILLING them just because they're a different species. I know father was like that and how mother tried to change him, thus causing for both of them to die in the civil war that followed up. But this is where things end. You're still young, you're still so immature."

Franziska growled, "I am not immature. My world, this world we live in now is perfectly fine. You are simply a foolishly foolish fool who thinks that the fools such as other species can actually cooperate when their foolishly foolish minds actually cannot comprehend how much work it takes!"

Edgeworth crossed his arms, his eyes glaring at Franziska, "And you do?"

"Whatever," she replied turning away, "Everything is fine, why must you complicate things?"

"I'm not complicating anything, Franziska," he replied sternly, "It is you who are complicating things."

A moment of silence, Franziska glaring at Edgeworth, and vise versa, while Phoenix stared at his feet. The man looked younger than Edgeworth and he was obviously a moonlight elf. It had only been a few moment after dawn, but ever since Franziska found out that her father did this she began to do it.

"Fine," she muttered breaking the ice, "I accept your challenge."

"Excellent," Edgeworth spoke turning away with Phoenix, "I'll be waiting patiently to crush your village, teaching you a lesson and gaining justice for all those humans, goblins and other creatures you have killed just to achieve this_ perfection_."

Franziska stared as her brother and his...Friend walked away. The wind lashed out rather furiously, she had to embrace herself in the cold. Biting her lower lip, she turned to walk back to her stump to sit. Yes, sit and think things over.

--

Adrian was always a morning person, yes always. She awoke and found a towel and a new bundle of clothing on top of it.

'Ms Adrian Andrews, there is a waterfall nearby. I am usually awake early so search for me and I will bring you there. I apologize for it being a bit cold there, but the weather is usually really warm anyways, so it isn't too bad.'

"Franziska..." Adrian muttered. Placing the note down she grabbed her stuff and looked outside for the blue haired elf.

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_**A/N: And so we have another chapter. Thanks to those who've been reading so far. Also my BETA shall be co-writing this, she'll be doing the next chapter, me doing the BETAing.**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Ditching Eternity**

_**A/N: Hahaha! It is I! The BETA of this story! Since I'm co-writing this with my sister, I get to write this chapter, so expect something a little... different from her original style. Anyways, as always, enjoy the story!**_

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**Chapter 4: War and All of Its Essence**

Adrian searched around the forest for a bit, pushing up her glasses as she snapped another twig in her search for the blue haired elf leader. Stumbling clumsily for a bit, she sighted a blob of shaking blue before slipping her glasses back on. Blinking, she stepped forward, reassembling the bundle of clothes in her arms as she approached Franziska slowly.

"Franziska?" Adrian said, reaching out to touch her bare shoulder. She barely touched her pale skin when the elf whipped around, eyes wide. Recognizing the blonde human, her eyes softened a bit as she stood up.

"I see that you are prepared to go, yes?" Adrian nodded an affirmative. "All right. Follow me, Ms Adrian Andrews."

The walk to the waterfall was silent, and with a bit of tension hanging in the air surrounding them. Adrian wanted to ask about Franziska's well being, but held it back for when it seemed appropriate to talk about it. '_After all, there is a time and place for everything, just not now_,'Adrian thought, hugging her clothes just a little closer to her chest.

The sound of water rushing filled Adrian's ears as she stood in front of the waterfall, watching the quick flow of the water above. Glancing back at Franziska, who at the moment was standing behind a tree, she quickly slipped out of her clothes before stepping into the waterfall. Running a hand through her dampening hair, Adrian figured that it might be a good time to ask about Franziska, "Um... Franziska?"

At the sound of her name, Franziska perked up a bit before replying, "I'm guessing that you want to ask about what I was doing before, yes?"

Adrian nodded out of habit, but realized that Franziska couldn't see her. "Yeah."

"Ms Adrian Andrews... I think that it might be a while before we decide whether you live or not," Franziska crossed her arms across her chest as she paused, "Because it might not be _us_ that end up taking your life."

"Wh... what do you mean by that?" Adrian responded, pausing from her previous rinsing.

"My brother, Miles Edgeworth, confronted me before you came to get me. Now, as you know already, he is the leader of Moonlight elves. The foolish fool seems to think there is something _wrong_ with my perfection, ergo he thought it was right to _teach me a lesson_ by declaring _war_." Franziska's hands fell to fists at her side, clenching and unclenching as she spoke, "So it is my assumption that you may be killed in the process."

"And you're... and you're all right with all of this?" Adrian asked, squeezing out water from her hair.

"If it is war he wants, war he gets," Franziska began crossing her arms once more turning to the side as if trying to project more enthusiam to her voice, "As the leader of this village I cannot just back down without a fight! You have faith in me, don't you Adrian?"

Adrian blinked, thinking the sentence was empty without her last name at the end. Faith in her? She trusted every single thing that Franziska did, right from the moment she let her live. It was foolish, but Adrian thought with confidence that Franziska was right, that this war was for the better of the elves.

"Of course I do, Franziska. I trust you with my life," Adrian said, no doubt in her words or her tone as she stared at the tree trunk, hoping to see Franziska's reaction.

Franziska's eyes widened a bit at this, but she told herself not to look back at the human. "O-Of course you do. It's only natural to trust someone like me, someone as perfect as I am."

Adrian smiled at this. Franziska reminded her so much of Celeste, her forceful attitude, her great leadership skills, and her ability to be confident and proud in what she does. She held her hand at her chest at the fond memories of her and Celeste, but stopped the train of thought as she realized that she shouldn't be comparing Franziska to Celeste. _They aren't the same, and they never will be. No... No matter how hard I try, nothing will bring Celeste back. And finding a replacement is no better_. To keep herself off of these thoughts, Adrian hurried to get some clothes onto her dripping self.

"Adrian...? You're being awfully quiet, is everything okay over there?" Franziska peeked over the trunk of the tree only to the sight of Adrian running out of the waterfall in her naked glory. Eyes widening, she couldn't help but stare as the blonde toweled herself off, completely oblivious to Franziska's actions. The elf's pale face flushed a bright shade of red before Franziska turned away. _Wh-What was that, you foolishly foolish fool? That was completely unecessary! You should be able to control yourself, especially when dealing with _her_! Why--_

"Um, Franziska?" Adrian's voice cut her mental ramblings off to a halt, causing her to whip around to find the source of the voice. By now the elf leader's flush had faded, and when she turned to face the blonde human, she found that they were only three inches apart. Involuntarily backing up, Franziska replied, "Wh-What is it, Adrian Andrews?"

Adrian cast her a questioning glance before stating, "We need to go back now, right?"

"O-Oh," She began still startled, "Yes, yes, we should be getting back now. Come along," Franziska spun on her heel quickly, _too_ quickly, as she walked briskly in the direction of the village. Adrian struggled to keep the same pace as the blue haired woman as they walked back to the village together.

-------

When the two arrived at the village, it was total chaos. Goblins, orcs, and a few Moonlight elves were attacking the villagers, running around madly with weapons held in their hands. Adrian's eyes widened at the sight, her hands falling to her sides in disbelief. Franziska was no better. Her eyes were frantically scanning the scene, finding dead bodies here, sighting blood stains there. Her hands were twitching as she stood stock still.

"Franny! You're here!" A loud voice cried out, followed by loud footsteps on the hard packed dirt. "The... The Moonlight Elves. They've started a war!"

"I can see that," Franziska stated rather calmly at the situation at hand. The young elf frowned at her, before starting up again.

"I'm _so_ glad you're here. We really need your help, Franny! C'mon!" Alex exclaimed before tugging on her hand. She toppled forward as he grabbed Adrian's hand too, dragging the both of them to the battlefield.

When they arrived, they saw scores of goblins and orcs lined up in rows, defenders at the front, javelin wielder in the middle, and archers at the back. They were moving slowly towards the heart of the village, killing anything in their way. They didn't seem to notice the elf leader standing a few feet away from them as they continued to charge forward.

"See Franny!" Alex said in a hushed tone, "They're killing everything in sight. Our forces are scrambling to their feet as we speak! What do we do?!" Alex was shaking slightly, almost shivering, he was obviously scared.

"Shh, Alex. I can take care of this. Take Adrian away from here while I round up the troops," Franziska said, her demeanor calm as she slipped away from the two to gather up their forces. "I didn't think I would have to use this, but..." She unraveled a long leather whip from out of her pocket, approaching her winded soldiers. They were scattered and running as a volley of arrows came crashing down from the skies. Using the whip to deflect the ones coming at her, Franziska stood her ground as she whipped the floor, catching the elves' attention.

"All right, you scatter-brained fools, listen up. I want the archers to stay back, find a place to hide from the front. Close-combat elves stay in the front and start hacking at their defenses, and the rest are back up. Now do this well and swiftly, for you are fighting for the sake of your loved ones. Is that clear?"

A chorused grunt came back as a response as they fell into place, starting up a small counter attack. Franziska joined the archers as she slipped her whip back into her pocket, hiding behind a large tree as she shouted, "On my command, archers! One, two... FIRE!!"

Avoiding the ongoing battle, Alex led Adrian away from the scene and back to her own hut. She chanced a glance behind her, only to see an orc get pierced by an arrow. Wincing, she turned back towards Alex as she bit her lip in worry. _Please, be okay when I get back, Franziska..._

The pair stood outside of Adrian's hut, watching the scene right in front of the village. "Wow... Hey! Isn't that Dan?" Alex asked, pointing out the elf with long, dark blue hair. He was fending off a goblin defender with a long-shafted spear, gritting his teeth as he pushed back the green creature.

Adrian squinted, then replied, "Yeah, that's him." The two continued to watch on in silence, oblivious to a certain Moonlight elf watching from behind.

"One, two... FIRE!!" Franziska yelled for the upteenth time. The archers were running out of arrows, and so was she. She needed to think of an alternative, and quick, because the enemy ranks were coming closer and closer, despite their diminishing numbers. Scowling, she grabbed her whip and jumped onto the battle field, catching a few goblins off guard. They were knocked back onto the back rows, causing the archers to fall back, their arrows falling onto the ground. The ones that dodged the whip ran straight into the swordsmen, having their heads cut off or something equally gruesome.

Franziska scanned the field. The archers were slowly regaining their composure, picking up their arrows from the ground. _There's my chance_, Franziska thought, moving in to whip them when a jab from a javelin cut off her path. Looking up, she came face-to-face with a grinning orc, staring her down at his height. She froze for a bit, then she tried whipping him, only to have the whip bounce back at her. The orc was still grinning, even when a spear blade was thrust into his torso and when he eventually fell over, dead. Franziska carefully stepped over the ugly creature, nodding to her cousin as he waved his blood-stained spear.

"So... how are the troops holding up?" Franziska asked casually, walking over to her muscular cousin.

"They're fine, really. A little tired, but they're doing quite well," He glanced over his shoulder to look at the remaining enemies. "It's somewhat odd, though. The Moonlight elves have been avoiding the battle for a bit, and they just seemed a little... Reckless."

"Reckless?! They were lined up in rows! How is that _reckless?!_" Franziska asked incredulously.

"That's the thing, Franziska. It's reckless for _them_. They're not too smart, so they usually attack in unorganized groups. They work with force, not organization. They don't know how to move in lines, that's why they were a bit easy to break down. It's ridiculous. I don't know what's going to happen next, and it's killing me."

"Hmm... well, at least they were disposed if. We can only wait and see to what happens next."

Franziska merely nodded in agreement. We'll see...

Adrian sighed, stepping out of her hut. The violence seemed to have died down a bit, so she and Alex decided to approach Franziska. Holding his hand, Adrian and Alex strode carefully to where Franziska and Dan stood. Quickly stepping over a dead body, Adrian asked, "Is it safe?"

"For now," Franziska stated, crossing her arms across her chest, "I don't think there are any enemies left."

"Oh. Okay, then. Shall we get some rest, then?"

"Hmm. I think that I should stay on the lookout, Adrian. You can go ahead if you like, though."

"O-Oh. Right. That's sounds... appealing," Adrian gave a weak smile before retreating to her hut, almost tripping on a dead body on the way there.

"Someone should clean this mess up before someone trips and falls into this dirty blood," Franziska commented, her tone deadpan.

Adrian sighed, closing the door behind her as she walked into her room. She stood in the middle of the makeshift hut, looking out the window. "I hope that everything turns out okay..."

"And all you can do is hope, Miss," Came a voice from behind. With a start, Adrian turned to face a Moonlight elf with spectacular red wings. "Good afternoon! I hope that you were having a good one, because I wouldn't like for you to cause a fuss."

"Cause a... fuss? Why would I cause a fuss?" Adrian asked, taking a step back from the Moonlight Elf. In return, he stepped forward with a frown.

"Because I'm afraid I'm going to have to kidnap you," And with that, the Moonlight elf swept her off the ground before flying out the window, hand clamped around her mouth. Her protests were muffled as they flew away from the village to only-God-knows-where, the Moonlight elf flying effortlessly through the sky, holding the blonde carefully.

At a safe distance away from the village, the Moonlight elf released his hand from her mouth, after which Adrian took a deep breath of fresh air. After calming herself down, Adrian glared angrily at the Moonlight elf and said, "Who are you and what do you want from me? Why are you kidnapping me?"

"I'm Phoenix Wright, the Moonlight elves' leader's right-hand man. What we need you for will be explained later, so don't worry and enjoy the flight, okay?" Phoenix offered her a small smile before looking back up ahead of them, causing Adrian's anger to subside for a bit.

"A-All right... I'll try, Mr Wright. I mean, there's no use in trying to fight back, right?" Adrian asked, her tone soft with a bit of hopelessness. The Moonlight elf nodded in agreement as he dodged a tree to his left.

"So, um... Could you tell me why Franziska's brother wanted to start a war?" Adrian asked, giving a try at conversation.

"Hmm? You mean Miles? Oh, he just wanted to show her a lesson, is all," Phoenix said cordially, nodding at a fellow Moonlight elf as it passed.

"But why _war_?"

"You should know why. Franziska is a stubborn brat, so it's his duty to give her a chance at being _good_."

"His duty?"

"Yeah. He's her older brother, you know."

"But Franziska is always referring to him as her "younger brother"."

"Really? I wonder why. She really _does_ need a lesson, then. She's too immature to be the older one."

Adrian frowned at this, looking up at Phoenix. "What makes you think that Franziska is immature?"

"She always wants her way, her so called _perfection_. What everyone works for is not _perfection_, but for _peace_. It's what people, leaders, like Miles fight for everyday. Leadership isn't just having your own way. It's _complicated_, and I don't think that she understands such an important role, let alone play it."

Adrian's fury was rising again. She couldn't just let him badmouth Franziska like that! "I don't think so. She's a great leader! She does what she thinks is best for the village! There's nothing wrong with that!"

"Of course there's nothing wrong with that! It's just the way she does everything is wrong. Killing other species just because they aren't your own isn't what's right for the village, Miss. They toy around with other people's _lives_ for their own selfish purpose. Think about yourself! They could've killed you at anytime, and they still can! _Is that really what you think is right?!_"

Adrian looked away, biting her bottom lip. "I... I... B-but they didn't kill me! That should mean _something_!"

"It was for their own selfish purpose, not for your sake. It may be different now, but it wasn't then. It _is_ progress, but you might be an exception. What's the possibility that whatever the reason they let you live so long would just somehow occur again? And what if they're _different_? What if they dispose of that human after they're done? It goes against her idea of perfection, Miss. And because of her lack of maturity, you never really know. You can't _rely_ on her for these kinds of things. She thinks it's so _simple_ as to just end the life of another living being. Face it. _Franziska von Karma isn't perfect_."

The words echoed through her mind, an inner conflict starting up. She clenched her eyes shut, holding her arms around herself as she tried to think of an answer, tried to think of something _right_.

_Franziska von Karma isn't perfect... No... No! She... You're wrong! How... How can you say that?! Just... just because she kills others doesn't mean that she's... that she's..._

_Listen to yourself, Adrian! Franziska _kills_ just because they aren't her own kind! She kills without reason! And it could've happened to _you_, Adrian. How can someone like that be _perfect

_No! She would _never_ do something like that to me! She... She loves me! Why would she do that after all we've been through?!_

_Where did that come from, Adrian? She doesn't love you. Maybe you love her, but you can't just pull these things from nowhere. You're a lost cause, Adrian. Someone who's co-dependant on someone who does evil things, and you know it. Maybe you've lost all of your common sense? You have _got_ to stop thinking like this. You can't let your weakness get to you._

_I... You... I don't care! She's, she's...!_

_She's _not _Celeste, Adrian. Stop it, stop it _now.

_Shut up! Shut up! I don't care! Just _SHUT UP

"Just... shut up..." Adrian mumbled aloud, hands on her head. Phoenix looked down at her briefly, frowning at her expression. _Oh no, I think I broke her. Now what do I tell Miles?_

After a few minutes of mumbling to herself, Adrian managed to open her eyes and look around her. It was as dark as night! She blinked, thinking it couldn't of taken that long. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she realized that Phoenix was... glowing. Well, parts of him were glowing. Glowing a soft blue in certain patches of skin, which was now as pale as a normal elf's skin, where the odd scars used to be.

When she managed to get her eyes off of Phoenix, she looked around her surroundings. Her eyes widened a bit at the sight of wooden houses atop of hills covered in leafy vines, some of them higher than others, and vice versa for the rest. The many beings flying around made the village light up with their soft blue scars, along with a few flowers that shone brightly in the moonlight. She blinked at the brightness in the black night. She turned her gaze to Phoenix, their arguement temporarily forgotten as her amazement overwhelmed her.

"Mr Wright?" At the sound of his name, Phoenix glanced down at her, signaling that she had his attention, "Um, how long was the flight here?"

"Oh not long, Miss. About fifteen minutes or so. Why do you ask?"

"Wow... Only fifteen minutes? Then why is it so dark here?" Phoenix laughed at this, causing her to give him a questioning look.

"You know how we're called moonlight elves?" A nod. "Our city is in eternal nighttime, Miss. It helps us stay alive and healthy, and it looks cool, too. It's why we're called the "Moonlight" elves, you know."

"Oh," Was all that she said, and the rest of the short flight to the highest house was silent.

When they entered the room, they were greeted by a tall, pale man with pointed ears. His arms were crossed against his broad chest as he approached the pair.

"You can put her down now, Wright," He said bluntly. Phoenix replied by making a face that said, 'Oh, right'. Adrian was put down, and as soon as her feet touched the ground, she stumbled a bit before regaining her composure.

"It's nice to see you too, Edgeworth," Phoenix said, giving him a look. Edgeworth merely smirked back at him, causing him to fume lightly.

"Oh! So, um, you're Mr Edgeworth, then?" Adrian asked, looking up at the elf. He nodded an affirmative.

"Hello, Ms Andrews. How are you?" Edgeworth returned her stare, tapping his arm lightly.

"I-I'm fine, thanks," Adrian shifted her weight onto her other foot before asking, "So why did you have him kidnap me, Mr Edgeworth? Does it have anything to do with the ongoing war?"

"Hmm, straight to the point, it seems. And I had a speech prepared and everything," Edgeworth looked off to the side as he paused, "All right then. Yes. Yes, this has everything to do with the war, Ms Adrian Andrews." The way he said her name made her shiver, the total opposite effect from Franziska. "Do you know why Franziska likes everything to be "perfect"?"

"Umm... N-No, sir," Adrian was trembling under Edgeworth's heavy gaze, no matter how hard she tried not to. She couldn't look away, either. "Why?"

"It's a long story, though I'm prepared to tell you." The look of 'no kidding' passed Phoenix's face at this, and Edgeworth sent him a glare before continuing, "As you may know, Franziska is my younger sister. Our parents are the ones who did this to her. Our father, especially. It was he who held the image of perfection so dearly, for it was his life, his reputation, the way he led the city. Our mother disliked this, and thus a war broke out. I, in the meantime, had been following my father's path to leadership, and when that war broke out, I was forced to do some thinking. Was perfection wrong? Was being in an all-elf environment good for our well being? The answer was no, so I sought a way out. That's when I remembered the Moonlight elves, my people. I came to them and they welcomed me with open arms," at this he glanced a Phoenix, who smiled brilliantly at him in return, "And from there, I worked my way up to the leader of this race. The elves, however, had lost their heir _and_ their leader as a result from the war. Franziska was then made leader, and from then on they kept living in their "perfect" world. Sad, really."

Adrian stared at the ground, taking it all in slowly. She was holding her hands in a nervous grip, realizing that Franziska had probably been forced to leadership. "I... Um, wow. But what does this have to do with me?"

"Her perfection is everything to her. To keep a human alive in their facilities is tremendous progress, despite its original meaning. And I plan to use this to test out just how much she can bear with keeping her perfection behind her and realizing that the other races are people, too. You see, Adrian Andrews, I plan to use _you_ as the key to this plan, to see if Franziska would risk her life to save you. _This_ is the reason why I had Wright kidnap you, _this_ is my test of trust for both you and Franziska. I do hope that you make it out alive, Ms Andrews. It would be tragic if you didn't, wouldn't it, Wright?"

"Huh?" the pointy haired man spat out looking at the elf, "Oh, yeah, it would. It really would be a waste," Phoenix cast his gaze onto Adrian, giving her a small smile.

Adrian backed away from them, her eyes wide as she said, "Th-This is madness! How can you do this?!"

"Simple. Just like this," Edgeworth reached out and plucked her from the ground kicking and screaming. He smirked at her, causing her to quiet down as he stared her down. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." And with that, he spun on his heel away from the door and to Adrian's slowly approaching doom.

"I can't help but to say that I'm slightly excited..." Phoenix muttered to himself as he followed Edgeworth and their hostage out.

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_**A/N: And here is your beloved Bern! I'd really like to thank Loraine. Damn her ability to out write me at times...But at least my ideas never seem to run out. I am very excited about this fic, we planned out a LOT of things already trying hard to keep them in characters. You know, Adrian and Franny were supposed to be the only canon characters, but when I asked her to co-write with me she insisted on me adding Edgeworth and Phoenix.**_

_**Ahahaha, next chapter is mine**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Ditching Eternity **

Chapter Five - Testing the Waters

Her head was spinning, her balance out of whack as she laid uncomfortably against her captor's borad back. She took a brief moment to adjust the glasses strewn across her face, fixing them so that they were sitting on the bridge of her nose. A small whimper escaped her lips when it slid down her face, her eyes blinking in protest as the small accessory drew near her eyes.

Adrian had given up all hope by now. All hope that she would be enlightened on the situation, all hope that she would survive in this unfamiliar world of elves and non-elves. To be honest, her mind had been pushed off its careful perch on a small pedestal in her head a long time ago, the death of Celeste being the cause of the fall. Without the security of having someone to fall back on, she had become somewhat delusional and started to risk her life the way that her love had.

The feeling of impending doom settled itself comfortably in her stomach, creating a dead weight in her grief ridden body. The glint in the moonlight-elf leader's eyes indicated a coldness that seemed familiar, one that told her that he had no care for her well being. God, what was this man going to do with her?

Edgeworth's body buzzed with the vibration of conversation, of which she had tuned herself out to. Beside them, Phoenix emitted a warm laugh that soothed her mind a little. She lifted her gaze to examine his shining blue eyes and recognised a look of affection that stirred her heart. It was also familiar, like that look Celeste would give her when she accidentally dropped her pen, or when she would have to wipe her glasses after smudging them with her own fingers. Full of love and consideration. It calmed her to know that not all foreign creatures had a cold heart. Maybe Edgeworth was returning the look? She hoped so.

They had passed a few blank, featureless corridors and were now standing in front of a door. Phoenix cast his leader a worried glance, shifting his gaze from the blonde woman on his shoulder to the man standing an inch taller than him.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, his voice soft in an attempt to be convincing. Edgeworth snorted at him and Adrian could sense that he was rolling his eyes.

"No need to get stage fright, Wright," he droned, leaning his unoccupied shoulder against the door. Adrian couldn't see either of them from her position, her ear pressed lightly against the elf's back. "Of course I want to do this. You know it's the only way to achieve justice from that foolish sister of mine."

"Watch your language, or you might start to sound like her," Phoenix said teasingly. How he could be so jovial in a time like this escaped her. When he spoke agian, his voice was calm and somber, and Adrian tried to imagine a serious look on his face. "But if she falls into too much danger, I think you'll have to try and stop me from saving her..."

The grip on her back tightened. The blonde assumed that Edgeworth was troubled by his right hand man's words. "You know that I'm stronger than you, Phoenix."

"But I'm faster."

"Wright, don't do this..." Edgeworth's voice was small and it sounded downright strange to her ears. "You know the point I am trying to make, don't you?"

"Yeah, but call me crazy if I don't like the idea of giving her to _Gant_."

"You act as if you've just heard the plan."

"Well, maybe it's different when you're standing at the door to a dragon's room!"

Wait, what? A dragon's room? Panic flooded through her system, her head snapping up with shock. She had done research about dragons before. They were the oldest creatures on the planet, large and powerful. It was a surprise to hear about the presence of a dragon because they hardly ever graced earthlings, that is ground-bound beings, with their attendance, finding it better to stay with their scarce race or in the sky. They only ever interact with others if something is in grave danger; they have no other reason to bother otherwise. Unless, she supposed, they wanted to.

Edgeworth turned his head, flexing his shoulder. Adrian shivered as the muscle under his clothing rubbed against her stomach, stifling a small giggle. She was ticklish there and could feel his steely grey eyes giving her a slightly quizzical look.

He shrugged dismissively and said, "If you're thinking about struggling _now_, you'd just be wasting your time and mine, so please, just relax."

"You expect me to relax when you're about to put me in a room alone with a dragon?!" the blonde exclaimed, slamming her fists into his back. "I bet that he's hungry, too."

Adrian just _knew_that Edgeworth rolled his eyes, lifting his weight from the door. "No, I'm sure that his appetite has been appeased and you're free to go. Otherwise our plan would be completely useless."

The researcher glared at the side of his head, burning imaginary holes into his pointed ears. She placed her elbow on his shoulder next to her face and deposited her face onto her palm, fed up. "I know that you're planning on killing me, or something along those lines, but you don't have to be such a jerk about it."

The silvery haired man sighed heavily, jerking his chin to the side. Phoenix came forward to help the elf remove Adrian from his shoulder.

"I apologise if I'm not a gracious host, Miss Andrews," Edgeworth replied, that sarcastic tone persisting to cling to his words. He bowed deeply as Phoenix held her wrists. "But you won't have to deal with me much longer."

Dread brought sweat to her brow as she swallowed thickly, her glasses starting to slip down her face. She thought of struggling for a brief moment, but knew the effort was futile. Edgeworth pulled out a ring of keys and began examining each key, slowly making his way through it. Adrian could feel her eyes burning from staring too long.

Eventually the elf found the key he was looking for and unlocked the door with a muffled click. The door swung open, the entrance enveloped in shadows.

Refusing to allow any sort of emotion show on his face, Edgeworth looked down the bridge of his nose to regard the blond woman. "If it makes you feel any better, you might just make it. But I would not count on it."

Signalling Phoenix with a nod, Edgeworth began to walk away, turning on his heel swiftly. Adrian chanced a glance over her shoulder. Her glasses were shaking slightly and the moonlight elf's apologetic expression almost slipped her perception.

"Hopefully, I'll be seeing you again," he murmured, flinging her into the room. She didn't have the breath to scream.

* * *

"Franny!"

The elf leader spun on her heel, edgy due to adrenaline. She regarded her young cousin with wide eyes, wondering just what kind of disaster could be happening _now_. "Yes, Alex?"

"I can't find Adrian!" he replied, voice high and shaking slightly. The small elf lifted his hands to his mouth, gnawing at his fingertips. Tears were on the verge of spilling out of his eyes and he crossed them in an attempt to stop the liquid in its tracks. "Do you think something bad happened to her?"

Franziska bit her lip. If a child like Alex lost Adrian, a woman whom he'd clung so tightly onto for the past few days, then perhaps... No, Alex was merely a child, he could not have the attention span to keep an eye on her for so long.

"No, of course not," Franziska replied, watching as Alex's face remained tense and worried. She was tempted to look away, to see the current status of her falling tribe.

A small, badly witheld sob floated into the air. No, she would have to deal with this herself to appease the child.

"I suppose I have the time to double check," she sighed, following him back into the village.

A few huts had been crushed under the force of blunt clubs and perhaps even the wide, flat feet of their opponents. Franziska could not spare the time to even glance at the wreckage. Worry was starting to manifest in her mind. A human should be easy to see amongst the fair skinned elves, with her glasses and blond hair. The leader even prided herself for knowing each and every face of her villagers, there was no way it could take this long to find Adrian unless...

Unless Alex was right.

A tug at her fingers dragged her attention away from the depths of her wandering mind. "Franny? Wh-What do you think?"

Franziska hummed in contemplation. She had left the human in a hut nearby, without a guard or anything of the like. Scowling, she mentally chided herself for being so foolish. A human in their elven village was easy to find, to plunder, and she knew that her brother had an odd interest in her.

"Edgeworth," she growled, simply seething. From the corner of her eye, she could see Alex send her a quizzical look.

"Edgeworth? Who's that?" he asked, refusing to let go of her hand.

With a small amount of effort, Franziska swallowed a lump in her throat. "A foolishly foolish fool who thinks he can get away with such foolish tomfoolery." It took a deep breath for her to regain her composure. "Do not worry, Alex. I know were Adrian is."

Alex's face lit up with joy. The expression gave Franziska a bit of hope in the sombre battlefield. "Really? Where is she? She better not be hiding! We're not supposed to play that until tomorrow!"

"Alex." Immediately, the young elf fell silent. It comforted Franziska to see him so quick to react to her firm voice of authority. "Tell Dan that he has to regroup the troops and start from scratch. We need to stay on the defense. I... I have other business to attend to."

Alex's mouth twisted into a wry sort of smile. "Is this Edgeworth your "business"?"

"Alex, do as you are told," Franziska replied, resisting the urge to glare at him. With an audible gulp, the child sprinted away.

Left to her own devices, Franziska bit down a scream. Who did that foolish man think he was, taking away what was hers! As the thought passed, the elf leader felt her jaw drop open an inch. No, no, it wasn't that; Edgeworth merely had no place in interfering with her village, that's all. Adrian was of no importance. If anything, she was Alex's plaything and nothing more.

She threw a glance over her shoulder, taking in the sight of tired, blood stained elves huddling together by a hut. Several arrows and a javelin stuck out of the building's walls and roof, painting it the perfect picture of pathetic.

At least one thing was perfect. Franziska couldn't help but feel ashamed, having dirtied her father's name by failing to keep the village as pristine as glass. She would not blame only herself, though. A traitor, an exiled elf was also behind this, she knew of it. If Edgeworth wanted to test her, why not come to her like the man he claims to be and challenge her up front?

It was frustrating to say the least. She could barely spare the attention to look for the foolish human, with the way things were going in the village. But she had a commitment to that foolish human, one way or another. She would not let her brother win this, and if that meant retrieving some foolishly foolish mistake, then so be it.


End file.
